


Battle Lines

by knitekat



Category: Primeval
Genre: Angst, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-08
Updated: 2014-03-08
Packaged: 2018-01-15 01:55:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1286860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knitekat/pseuds/knitekat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Lester's introspection on events in S3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Battle Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Beta-ed by the ever wonderful Fred Bassett.

Lester poured himself a healthy measure of whisky as he considered the day's events. It had been a total and absolute disaster, a bloody fucking screw up from start to finish. He had three team members stuck God only knew where. He didn't even know if Quinn ... no, if Danny, Connor and Abby were even still alive.

He sighed as he thought about them. The annoyingly cocksure ex-cop who thought he was invincible but who had still managed to prove he was a worthy replacement for Cutter. The geeky, accident-prone, motormouth student who, somehow, had became invaluable to the project. And then there was Abby, she had become the soul of the operation, the one who kept them grounded.

He had to believe they were alive and together. That Danny's leadership, Abby's common-sense and Connor's gadgeteering would keep them safe and bring them home.

They, and the rest of the ARC team, had slowly become his almost-family. People he could talk to, people he could depend on, people who wouldn't stab him in the back and kick him when he was down.

He raised his glass to all of them and took a large swallow, gasping as it burned his throat on the way down.

Thinking of betrayal, Lester's thoughts turned to Christine Johnson. Captain Becker had informed him that his nemesis, the bane of his existence, was dead.

Lester sighed softly as he cast his mind back over the last several months, when his perfectly-ordered life had rapidly gone to hell.

When he had opened the document from the MoD informing him of the ARC's new military liaison that the minister had lumbered him with, Lester had had to read the name several times before he believed it. He had known Christine worked there, but had never entertained the thought that she would be the one. Bloody hell, the universe must have hated him to bring her back into his life. Why her? Lester would have preferred anyone to her, even that slimy bastard who wouldn't take no for an answer. God but that man made his skin crawl, how many times did he have to be told that Lester didn't swing that way?

Lester took another sip of his whisky as he mused over that. Truth be told, he was somewhat surprised that he didn't, not after the hell Christine had put him through over the years. Maybe that was why the guy tried it on? Maybe he thought Christine had put Lester off women for life?

Lester remembered his first official meeting with Christine as the ARC's military liaison, it was just so typical of her to try to undermine him. She always had, from the first time they had met at university. He shook his head at the memory; he must have been a masochist to ever have wanted to date the woman.

Lester sighed again as he swallowed some more of the whisky. Had his parents' dysfunctional marriage warped his own views so severely that he thought what he and Christine had then was normal? He had the terrible feeling that it had, why else would he have put up with her? All her jealous rages when he did better than her in a test, all her preening when she beat him.

It had set the pattern for their careers, always competing to get the better of the other by whatever means they could. Lester smiled coldly; he supposed he should have thanked Christine for his current position, without her he might not have pushed himself so hard. His smile faded, without her, he might have had a family life and even friends.

Returning his thoughts to the meeting at the Home Office, Lester remembered how Christine had even flirted with him. Even now, that thought turned his stomach. She had broken his heart and knew it, the flirting had just been to twist the knife in and it had worked. Christine had always known what buttons to press when it came to him. She had left him stammering like a schoolboy and had controlled the meeting from that moment onwards.

Lester took another swig from his glass as he recalled Christine's first unannounced visit to the ARC. She had just swept in like she owned it and had tried to put one of her own lapdogs in a position of power. Did she really believe he would just allow it? Christine's pushing had been the only reason he had recruited Danny Quinn and not simply thrown him into some dank, dark room and lost the key. But, although it had been a somewhat impulsive response to Christine's actions, Danny had proven himself in quick order. It had certainly made Lester's day when he had seen Christine's expression when he had hired Danny instead of Wilder. She hadn't expected that and had really not liked it. Sometimes knowing people as well as he knew Christine proved useful. Of course, it was a double-edged sword as she had known him just as well.

It was why he had known that Christine would be back, that she would try another angle to get what she wanted: legal and above board or not. It hadn't really been a surprise when Jenny had informed him that Christine had a secret facility and that they had detected an anomaly there. The only surprise had been Jenny's anger and Lester had suddenly understood that she and Cutter had been more than friends, even if far less than lovers. Lester smiled bitterly, why was it that women always made his life hell?

He had been angry after that meeting with his team, he didn't need Jenny telling him the bloody obvious when it came to Christine. He knew her far too well. She was the most infuriating individual he had ever had the misfortune to meet. Which might have explained ... no, don't think about that. He had taken several deep breaths to calm down before placing his call, if Christine knew she had made him angry she would close in for the kill, yet again.

When he had finally spoken to Christine, Lester hadn't been surprised when she'd lied to him. He knew Christine had added in the minister's word just to give herself some credence, although it had made him wonder just what her relationship with the minister was.

It was just unfortunate that he had mentioned her hotline to the minister, he had known as soon as she raised an eyebrow at him that he had just conceded a point in their game.

Lester recalled her parting comments with a bitter laugh. Christine had told him they were on the same side, that they had to trust each other. Had she really forgotten that she was the one who had taught Lester not to trust anyone? To expect to be stabbed in the back by those closest to him.

The only ones who hadn't were his people at the ARC. Lester refilled his drained glass as he remembered how they had fought to keep him in charge. And the risk that Captain Becker had taken when he had recorded Christine's disparaging remarks about the minister. A smile tugged at Lester's mouth as he remembered the minister's face when Lester had played those comment to him. It had felt so good to know he had not been the only one to fall for Christine's snake-oil charm.

Lester had been so proud of his team, so bloody proud. He hadn't expected their loyalty, not when he was such a bloody pain to work for. The applause they had given him had been the best present he had ever received in his entire life. On bad days it was the memory that would always cheer him up and keep him going, but not today. Not after the bloody disaster today had turned into.

Lester allowed his thoughts to turn to earlier that day, to his final meeting with Christine. He had almost enjoyed it when Helen had held a gun to Christine's head. When Christine's composure had cracked and he had seen her as the powerless one for once. Just for once.

But no matter how much he hated her for what she had done to him, Lester couldn't allow Helen to harm Christine. She still had that much of a hold over him, even if he had cited Health and Safety as an excuse.

However, scaring Christine, now that was a different matter. Lester had felt it would be good for the bitch to stew for once. It was why he had told Helen to shoot her, even though he knew she was not bluffing. Not after she had murdered her own husband in cold blood. So, Lester had let Helen go in the belief that his people, and Christine's, would save her.

He'd had no other choice but it had all gone horribly wrong. Becker had reported that Helen had taken Christine to her own facility. That Christine had access to an anomaly to the future. That they had done the best they could to save Christine but a future predator had dragged her though it, screaming.

If only Lester had known about the anomaly, he would have done something different. He didn't know what, but he would have found another way.

Lester downed the rest of his drink as he stared fixedly at the photo in his hand.

How the hell was he going to explain Christine's death to their children?


End file.
